Risotto with Roasted Butternut Squash, Chanterelles and Bellingham Blue Cheese

I love risottos!

When made with care and attention, using quality ingredients, they are so comforting to eat and so so tasty.

The recipe that I give here is a true celebration of Autumn ingredients and also showcases the wonderful Bellingham Blue Cheese which is made by Peter and Anita Thomas at Glydefarm in Castlebellingham, County Louth.

The cheese which is made from unpasteurized cow's milk is firm in texture but crumbly and grainy on the tongue. It has a strong flavour with a pleasing salty finish. All the milk used to make the cheese comes from Peter and Anita's herd of Fresian cows using raw milk.

Bellingham Blue has won a number of prestigious awards including a Gold Medal at the British Cheese Awards in 2001 and a Silver Medal at the World Cheese Awards in 2008. In 2010, it won the Supreme Champion at the Irish Cheese Awards.

Bellingham Blue is wonderful used in cooking as it imparts a sophisticated flavour, whilst retaining the inherent characteristics of the cheese, without overpowering other flavours.

I crumble small nuggets of the cheese over this risotto just before serving and I love the way it begins to melt into the hot rice, but still retains some bite.

The chanterelles add a lovely earthiness to the risotto and are delicious with the sweetness of the roasted butternut squash, but feel free to use other varieties of mushroom. I particularly like girolles.
  

Ingredients:

3-4 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, finely diced
250g butternut squash, diced
Sprig of thyme
350g carnaroli or other risotto rice
250ml dry white wine
750ml hot vegetable stock
25g butter
4 tbsp freshly grated parmesan
100g small chanterelles, cleaned
100g Bellingham Blue Cheese, crumbled
1 shallot sliced into thin rings
A handful of sage leaves
Salt and pepper to season
 

Method:

1.                  Pre-heat oven to 200C/Fan 180C/gas 6.
2.                  Put the diced butternut squash into an ovenproof dish and drizzle over a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the sprig of thyme and season well. Place in the pre-heated oven and allow to roast while you make the risotto.
3.                  Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large pan. Add the diced shallot and cook over a moderate heat. After about 5 minutes, add the rice and stir, ensuring that each grain of rice is coated in the oil.
4.                  Add the white wine and allow evaporate. Then add the stock a ladleful at a time, adding more as it become absorbed by the rice. Keep stirring all the time. It will take about 15minutes for the rice to be sufficiently cooked. You may not need to add all the stock… essentially you want the rice to have slight bite in it but not be undercooked. The risotto should have a gloopy consistency and should not be dry.
5.                  Take the risotto off the heat and add in the butter and grated parmesan and season well. Mix well to incorporate.  
6.                  Meanwhile heat a tablespoon of oil in a medium sized frying pan. When hot add the chanterelles and sauté quickly. Add the shallot rings and sage and allow cook until they are crispy, about a further minute. Remove from heat and drain on kitchen paper.
7.                  Take the roasted butternut squash out of the oven. Mix the chanterelles, roasted butternut squash and blue cheese into the risotto. Spoon into serving bowls and top with the crispy shallot rings and a few crispy sage leaves.

Serves 4.

Cherry Clafoutis

This is a classic French pudding and one that really celebrates the taste of the fruit that is used. I have used cherries here, which is what are used in the classic version, but I regularly make it with peeled, ripe pears during Autumn.

 

Other fruits, such as blackberries, blueberries, apricots and plums can be used in place of the cherries. Although this pudding can be served hot, it is so much nicer allowed to cool slightly and eaten at room temperature. Essentially it consists of fruit set in a sweet Yorkshire pudding type batter. Some versions use ground almonds, but I prefer to leave them out as they lend a grainier texture to the finished dish.

I might as well confess that I hate stoning cherries, but it really is worthwhile to do so, because you can then enjoy the full taste of the pudding without being interrupted every couple of mouthfuls to fish out the stones. A special cherry stoning implement can be purchased, relatively inexpensively to make this task easier.

 

Finally feel free to serve with some softly whipped cream.

 

Ingredients:

350g of stoned cherries

80g caster sugar, plus a couple of extra tablespoons to dust the dish

2 large eggs

90g plain flour, sieved

30g butter melted

150ml milk

½ tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste

2-3 tblsp of icing sugar

 

Method:

1.      Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4.

2.      Grease a 20cm, round, shallow oven-proof dish with some butter and then sprinkle over a couple of tablespoons of the sugar.

3.      Place the cherries in buttered dish.

4.      Beat the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract/paste together with a large balloon whisk. Once incorporated, whisk in the flour. Add in the melted butter and milk and stir until fully mixed into the batter.

5.      Pour the batter over the cherries and place in the pre-heated oven for approximately 35 minutes and the pudding has puffed up and is a lovely golden colour.

6.      Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

7.      Dust with icing sugar just before serving.

 

Serves 4.

Mini Raspberry Queen of Puddings

Sometimes only and old-style pudding will do.

I love Queen of Puddings!

 

It's sweet and gooey and comforting to eat. It's one of those desserts that can be eaten in Summer or in Winter.

This pudding uses stale breadcrumbs, which are set in a custard which is then baked in the oven until just set... It is then topped with raspberry jam and a meringue made using the egg whites that are left over from making the baked breadcrumb custard. I love recipes that don't leave you with any extra egg whites/yolks and this is one of those recipes.

A very similar pudding, the Monmouth Pudding, was first served in the 17^th Century, and an identical pudding, the Manchester Pudding, was popular in the 19^th Century.  It is said that the pudding was re-named Queen of Puddings when Queen Victoria visited Manchester, tasted the pudding and loved it. The Chef responsible for making the dish decided to re-name it in honour of her.

 

I have used raspberry jam... because it is my favourite, but feel free to ring the changes and use other types of jam or even stewed seasonal fruit. Stewed apples work really well... and sometimes I even use apple sauce from a jar, left-over from when I cook a roast pork dinner. Basically just try experimenting.

 

I have served the puddings in individual bowls, but you can make one large pudding...I have given the timings for both versions!

Ingredients:

225ml milk
225ml double cream
1tsp vanilla paste
225g caster sugar
5 eggs, separated
140g fresh breadcrumbs
Zest of a lemon
200g raspberry jam 

Method:

1.      Preheat oven to 160°C/fan 140°C/gas 3.
2.      Pour the milk and cream into a pan and add the vanilla paste.
3.      Bring slowly to the boil over a medium heat and set aside.
4.      Whisk half the sugar and the egg yolks in a bowl until light and creamy. Slowly pour the hot milk and cream onto the egg yolk and caster sugar mixture, whisking all the time.
5.      Add the breadcrumbs and lemon zest and allow soak for 10 minutes.
6.      Place six ovenproof ramekins or glasses into a roasting tin. Divide the breadcrumb mixture evenly between the six dishes. If you want to make one larger pudding, use a flattish 1.4 litre oval Pyrex dish and increase the cooking time to 25-30 minutes. Pour boiling water into the tin until it comes halfway up the side of the ramekins/glasses or the Pyrex dish.
7.      Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the puddings are almost set but still a little wobbly in the centre. Remove and cool.
8.      Turn oven up to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5. Place the egg whites in a clean, dry and grease-free bowl and whisk to form stiff peaks. Gradually whisk in the remaining sugar until you get a thick, glossy meringue, then spoon into a piping bag. 
9.       Heat the raspberry jam with one tablespoon of water until easier to spread. You do not need to boil it. Spread a little jam onto each of the puddings and then pipe the meringue onto the puddings and bake for 6-8 minutes until crisp and lightly browned. If doing a single, larger pudding, increase time to 15-20 minutes.

10.  The puddings can be eaten immediately, but I think they are nicer if allowed to cool slightly or if they are eaten at room temperature.

 

Serves 6.

Barm Brack

Halloween is just around the corner, so time to think about baking some seasonal treats to celebrate the night when ghosts and ghouls will be out-and-about!

Barm Brack is traditionally associated with Halloween in Ireland. The brack can either be made as a yeasted, sweet bread or as a type of tea-brack using bicarbonate of soda as the raising agent. Whilst I love both versions, I have a particular fondness for the yeasted variety and have included the recipe here.

The word barm comes from an old English word, beorma, meaning yeasted and  fermented liquor. Brack comes from the Irish word brac, meaning speckled… and if you look at the finished loaf…that is exactly what it is… speckled with dried fruit!

Traditionally, a ring (usually a toy charm) is hidden in the brack. On slicing and serving the brack, folklore dictates that whoever gets the ring is certain to be married within the year! If you are going to include a ring in the mixture, make sure that you wrap it in some greaseproof paper before placing in the unbaked dough.

When baked and cooled it is lovely simply sliced and buttered. It goes without saying that it is delicious with a cup of tea! It is also fabulous toasted, though if using a standard toaster to do this, watch it carefully to ensure that it does not burn. Again, I would recommend a generous scraping of a good butter on the hot, toasted brack. Yum!

Finally, there’s no need to throw away any stale ends of brack that you might have lurking around… though my personal experience is that there is never any left to allow go stale because it is usually gobbled up! But if you do, use the slices of brack in place of bread in Bread & Butter Pudding.

Ingredients:

300g mixed dried fruit
80ml hot, strong black tea
500g strong plain flour, plus extra for dusting
75g unsalted butter, diced
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground mixed spice
75g sugar
1 x 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
2 medium eggs, beaten
150–170ml semi-skimmed milk, lukewarm
Oil, for greasing

Method:

1.      Soak the fruit in the tea for at least two hours.
2.      Place the flour in a large mixing bowl. Using your fingertips, rub in the diced butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Next, stir in the salt, mixed spice, caster sugar and yeast.
3.      Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, add half the beaten egg and gradually add 150ml milk, adding a little more if needed. The dough will be slightly sticky but should not be completely unworkable.
4.      Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, adding a touch more flour if it sticks, and knead for 8–10 minutes, until the dough is elastic and smooth and springs back when you poke a finger in it! You can also use a dough hook on a free standing mixer to take away the hard work of kneading, but I would strongly recommend doing it by hand, because it is by doing this that you really get a “feel” for the dough.
5.      Add the fruit and tea and knead well until combined. As the tea may make the dough a little sticky, you may need to sprinkle in a little extra flour. After kneading in the fruit, the dough should be smooth but still a little sticky. Again, you can knead in the fruit using a dough hook on a free standing mixer.
6.      Place in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover with oiled cling film and leave in a warm place for about 1½ hours until doubled in size.
7.      Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
8.      Knead the dough lightly to knock out the air. Divide the dough in two and shape each into a ball. Place each ball of dough into a well-greased lightly floured 7” round deep cake tin. Cover with greased cling film and set aside for half an hour to rise again.
9.      Brush the tops of the loaves with the remaining beaten egg and bake in the oven for approximately 45 minutes, until a dark, golden-brown colour. If the tops of the loaves appear to be browning too much whilst baking, cover with a little aluminium foil until they finish baking.
10.  The bread should sound hollow when tapped on the base. Remove the loaves from the tins to cool on a wire rack.

New York Cheesecake

Cheesecakes make great desserts. There are two types which can be made; both of which are very different from each other.

 

The first are uncooked cheesecakes and are usually set using gelatine; the other are baked cheesecakes. Many people think that baked cheesecakes are very “heavy” and stodgy and steer away from them. Whilst they are undeniably rich, if made with care, they can still be creamy and smooth.

 

The recipe that I give here is for a New York Cheesecake. I like to serve it with seasonal berries, which help cut through the richness.  I sometimes leave out the layer of sour cream on the top, but I do like the sour tang that the cream lends.

 

One tip that I would give is do not over mix the filling…If you do, the cheesecake will be more inclined to crack on cooling. Granted, this can be “disguised” by adorning the top of the cheesecake with a layer of sour cream. Another tip to avoid cracking is to let the cheesecake cool in the oven with the door slightly ajar when it has finished baking and you have turned off the oven.

 

Ingredients:

For the base:

200g digestive biscuits

25g caster sugar

75g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing

For the filling:

600g full-fat Philadelphia cream cheese at room temperature

200g caster sugar

300ml tub soured cream

3 large free-range eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste

50g plain flour, sifted

 

Method:

1.       To make the base, whizz the biscuits in a food processor to fine crumbs, or put them in a sealed plastic freezer bag  and crush with a rolling pin. Tip into a medium bowl and mix with the sugar and melted butter.

2.       Press the mixture evenly into a greased 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin, then chill for at least 30 minutes.

3.       To make the filling, mix the cream cheese, sugar and 200ml of the soured cream together in a medium bowl until smooth – don’t overbeat (see tip above). Gently beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla. Fold in the flour to form a smooth batter.

4.       Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4.

5.       Remove the tin from the fridge and spoon the filling over the base. Put the tin on a baking sheet and bake for 45-60 minutes until the top is golden, set at the edges but just wobbly in the middle. Leave to cool completely in the tin.

6.       When cool, transfer to the fridge to chill for at least 3 hours or ideally overnight.

7.       To serve, spoon the remaining soured cream over the cheesecake and smooth out.

 

Serves 10